Bar Guide 2014: Renner's Grill

To an outsider, certain neighborhood bars feel more like a secret passed from house to house than a place to sit down and sip a cheap pint after a long day at the office. Multnomah Village institution Renner’s Grill—open since 1939, which makes it one of Portland’s oldest dives—is not that type of bar. There are no inside jokes or initiation rituals here—just a wild collection of old drunks, young couples, and stickers from at least three different Pendleton Round-Ups. This is a real drinker’s bar: The dry-erase board behind the counter proudly boasts of $2.25 wells during “power hour” every day from noon to 1 pm, and judging by the clientele after work on a recent Tuesday, you can bet it’s not empty. Order a Chicago dog ($4.75 with all the fixins) and watch the affable bartender amble back to the kitchen through a door labeled “Principal’s Office” in search of free chips. MICHAEL MANNHEIMER.